Tobacco pipe attachment



g- 31, 1954 H. G. MElGS 2,687,735

TOBACCO PIPE ATTACHMENT Filed Jan. 5, 1952 INVENTOR F 6 v s/vey 6. M6766 ATTORNEYS.

tobacco pipeattachments.

the empty bowl.

Patented Aug. 31, 1954 1 ITED STATES PATENT.

ToBAoco PIPE ATTACHMENT Henry G. Meigs, Milwaukee, Wis.

This invention relates to improvements in It is a primary objectof the invention to providean attachment .ofuniversal application to tobaccopipe bowls for precluding the clogging of the pipe stem during the filling of the bowl; for improving the draft between the bowl and stem; for facilitatin the removal of ashes from the bowl; and for preventing caking.

Further objects of the invention include the provision Of an attachment applicable to a pipe bowl at the side thereof over the stem and having a form and composition such as to fulcrumelastically upon the interior of the bowl in the performance of the above described functions; the provision of an attachment blank so designed that two different sizes of attachments for the purposes of the invention may be formed, to the end that any conventional bowl may be fitted; and the provision 'ofan attachment which is simple and economical in design and use. These objects will be more particularly elaborated in the following disclosure of the invention.

In thedrawingsz f Fig; 1 is a view in perspective showing a tobacco pipe having an attachment embodying the invention applied thereto. V Fig. 2 is a fragmentary detail view taken in vertical section through the bowl of the pipe of Fig; 1 showing how the attachment appears in Fig. 3 is a detail view taken partially in vertical section and partially in side elevation showing how the attachment appears during the tamping of tobacco into the bowl of the pipe of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary detail view taken in vertical section through the bowl of the pipe in Fig. l to show the position of the attachment after the tobacco in the bowl is released from tamping pressure.

Fig. 5 is a view taken in vertical section through the bowl of the modified type of pipe showing application of the attachment thereto.

Fig. 6 is a view in plan from the blank from which the attachment is made.

Fig. '7 is a view in perspective showing the complete attachment per se.

The pipe bowls shown in Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive on the one hand and Fig. 5 on the other hand represent two extremes between which are the forms of all the conventional tobacco pipe bowls known to me. The bowl 8 of Figs. 1 to 4 has a virtually cylindrical bore 9 communicatin with the duct I in the stem II. The bowl I2 in Fig. has a frusto-conical cavity communicating with ,Appl ication January3, 1952,, Serial No. 264,775 1 Claim. (Cl. 131183) l l the duct l3 in the stem. An attachment which will fit both of these bowls should fit substantially all pipe bowls.

My improved attachment ispreferably made from a blank such as that shown at [5 in Fig. 6. It has a straight sided intermediate shank portion terminating in a;large disk-shapedend l6 and a small disk-shapedend H. For small pipes, the end [1 will be withinthe bowl with the end 15 outside, while for larger pipes the attachment will be so made that the end 16 Will be within the bowl and the end" l1 outside. Except for interchanging the smaller and larger ends, the form of the attachment will be identical,

In shaping the attachment from the blank, the portion of the shank 15 contiguous to the end It receivable in the bowl desirablywill be formed to provide an elbow at l9 and another elbow at 20.

the elbow 20, the shank extends upwardly in general conformity with the inner surface of the bowl until it clears the, rim thereof. Then the shank is formed into a broadarc or curve at 2|, reengaging the bowl at 22 and-recurving therefrom adjacent its endlassumed, for the purposes of this disclosure, to be the disk 11, although the disks may be interchanged as above explained).

The beginning of the curvilinear portion 2| of the shank will ordinarily engage the rim of the pipe to limit the movement of the attachment downwardly into the bowie It is essential to the operation herein contemplated thatthe end 16 be spaced free of the lower portion of the bowl. The length of the exterior portion of the attachment is sufficiently short so that the attachment may desirably be positioned directly over the stem, where it is inconspicuous, and where it best performs the functions hereinafter to be described.

The material of the blank l5 and the attachment made therefrom is preferably quite resilient. In the empty bowl, the spoon portion formed from disk It is held by elbows l9 and 20 well above the bottom of the bowl and free of the inner side surfaces thereof as shown in Fig. 2. When the tobacco filling 23 is packed into the bowl as shown in Fig. 3, the disk portion l6 of the attachment yields downwardly under the pressure. In the ordinary pipe filling operation, this packing frequently results in forcing the tobacco fiber into the stem duct l0. However, no matter how hard the tobacco is packed, the disk portion of the present attachment will preclude a material part of the tobacco from reaching the stem duct, or

The elbowed form provides a fulcrum upon.

lodging therein. Moreover, as soon as the packing pressure of Fig. 3 is released, the resilience of the material of which the attachment is made will cause the attachment to spring back toward its original form, thereby lifting the packed charge of tobacco slightly as indicated in Fig. 4. Although the disk portion 16 of the attachment may be forced into engagement with the bottom or side portions, oftthel-bowl in liigi 3-, the resilient springing tbackwar dlyp. or such attachment will free it from engagement with the bowl, leaving room around the edges of the disk it for free and unobstructed draft toward the stem.

The springing action of the device' isa-little different according to the shape ofcthetbowldn which it is used. In a straight sided bowl such as that shown in Figs. 1 to' 4, most-of the-bending occurs at the elbow '20-, particularly if. theytop of the attachment is held by the operators thumb as will ordinarily be the case in. a small-mouthed 'bowl. 'In"'a" bowl "having a' concave, or' conical cavity andwide mouth; as shown in Fig. 5'; with flaring walls, the attachment will still fulcrum at 29 and will bend toincrease'the angle slightly at: that point. However, there will be a'tendency for additional bending to occur throughout the arcuately curved" portioni I with the result that the attachment-will be .displacedas shown in dotted lines while subject-to tamping pressure.

Due to-the-resilient yieldingsupport provided bythe attachment,-the effective tamping pressure exerted on the body 280i tobaccowill be quite limited, thereby 'predetermining' the density of the pack'with-considerable uniformity. This will means i that the air flowt-hroughthe tobacco during-combustion will'be quite uniform, depending on the size of the tobacco cut and the moisture content'thereof. Air flow is further enhanced by *the resilient--return-of theattachment after the packing pressure is relieved.

-Asa aresult of these twofactora-improvedcombustion-of the tobacco Y mass-will occur. In practice; little or nocaki-ng isencountered and the tobacco-burnscleanlyand smoothly to arsoft' ash which isreadily removed by using the attachment asaspoon 'to liftthe'entireremainingbody of ashesifrom the bowl. "The outwardly curved" portion *2 Poi i the attachment and-the recurventend thereof provide a-- convenient handle for the manipulation of the attachment for the discharge r crash.

It -may be observed-that these", advantages are achieved with an attachment which comprises a singlepiece of -resilient sheet metal; there bein 4 no separate parts and no parts having movement except by virtue of the resilience of the unitary stock.

This is a continuation in part of my application 788,371, filed November 28, 1 4 now abandoned, entitled Tobacco Pipe Attachments.

I claim:

A tobacco support for the bowl of a pipe, said .support consisting of ..a:str.ip of: resilient mate- -.rial.havingienlarged ends; and a .narrovtconnecting portion between the ends, one of said ends ;=heing substantially flat and of area dimensions ,sufiiciently .less than the cross sectional area of the'bowl cavity above its communicating open- :ing' withathepipe stem to permit yielding movement thereof, said narrow connecting portion having at its end adjacent the fiat end an oblique portion, a straight portion above the oblique portion, an arcuate portion extending laterally therefrom, and, a second arcuate portion extending substantially in thetsameodirection as the straight ,portion: and adjoining the other end of .the. strip whereby. in the normalv positionof :the support me pipe bowl the straight portion-will lie .against ,the. wall-surface of .thecavity, the first arcuate: portion will have liner contact with the'upper inner-edge of the bowl cavityonly and the second arcuate portion-.willbe entirely spaced from therbowl, andwhereby whenpressureis app1ied;to tobaccoaon thefl-at end-the latter-will be inclined the straight portion will ,pivot about its f lowerend .011 1 the .-1cavity,;wa llland the first arcuate portion willtend to-swing-toward the center of the bowl :cavity, the, inherent-resiliency of-;.the.v strip tending ,to =.cause. the, portions of the strip to: return vtonnormal position on-relief'iof pressure.

References Cited in thefile-ofithis patent .IUNITED STATES PATENTS Number "Name Date 821,836 Spotswood et al -May 29, 1906 1,098,942 De Maio June 2,:1914 1,462,425 Shaw July'l'l, 19,23

$82 7 Webb Oct.27,1931

' Y FOREIGN; PATENTS Number Country Date 7,100 "Great Britain 1894 81,8 Switzerland Ju1y16,'19l9 1 24;999 Great- Britain Apr.-10, 1919 v 457; 573 -France Sept; 20, 1913 

